I ran across this article and wanted to share it. Because it is rather long I'm only going to post the beginning and end, but I encourage you to read the whole thing. How medical marijuana and air guitar sent this 'Hurt Locker' hero to prison | Leafly How medical marijuana and air guitar sent this ‘Hurt Locker’ hero to prison Bruce Barcott and Andrew GeorgeJuly 24, 2020 Sean Worsley worked on a IED/bomb disposal unit for 14 months in Iraq. He returned home alive but wounded, and used medical marijuana to manage his brain trauma and PTSD. But now he can't, because Alabama locked him up in prison for five years after a small-town cop found Worsley's medicine in his car during a family road trip. Medical marijuana is now legal in 35 states. Some form of cannabis—even if just CBD—is legal in 47 states. Nationwide polls show more than 90% of Americans believe patients should have the right to use medical cannabis without fear of arrest and incarceration. So why is Sean Worsley, a 33-year-old Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, locked up in an Alabama prison cell for five years? He’s there because of music, medical marijuana, and the racist trap known as cannabis prohibition. He’s there because he dared to treat his PTSD—a result of his 14 months spent working with a bomb squad in a war zone—with medical marijuana and made the mistake of driving through Alabama with his medicine in the car.......... And the very end..... "As more attention is drawn to Worsley’s case, the wheels of justice may begin to turn. In similar cases—most famously that of Bernard Noble, once sentenced to 13 years in a Louisiana prison for holding two joints—years of advocacy work have resulted in early release. You can help by: Donating to help Sean and Eboni Worsley with legal expenses through this GoFundMe account. Write words of encouragement to Sean Worsley at: Sean Worsley, Pickens County Jail, PO Box 226, Carrollton, AL 35447 Learn more about Worsley and fellow drug war prisoners through the Last Prisoner Project. The authors would like to acknowledge the groundbreaking work of Leah Nelson, research director at the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, whose research and writing has brought Sean Worsley’s case to the attention of the wider world." So here's a chance to do a kindness by supporting a veteran and also make a statement to the unenlightened state of Alabama! Let them know that we are watching! (See "DOJ: Routine Beatings Of Alabama Prisoners Amount To Cruel And Unusual Punishment" Yahoo is now a part of Verizon Media for even more reasons this injured veteran needs our help! I think we can all agree that veterans with brain trauma and PTSD should not be subjected to "routine beatings". ) Right now, there are over 800 of you online at GC (not counting "bots"). How about each of you digging out a postage stamp and an envelope from the desk drawer and writing a letter or two to Sean? Doesn't have to be long, just a few words of encouragement and/ or sympathy are enough. Granny (and back to working on the List)
Alabama is weird (in more than one way), seems that the cop who arrests you gets to decide if you get a felony or a misdemeanor charge. If the cops is racist, hung over, or just doesn't like your looks, you get a felony charge. (From the article) “First-time possession [of marijuana] is charged as a misdemeanor if the arresting officer thinks it was for personal use; all subsequent instances of possession are felonies. If the arresting officer believes the marijuana is for ‘other than personal use,’ then possession of any amount can be charged as a felony even if it’s an individual’s first time being arrested for possession.” One cop decides a man’s fate Despite Sean Worsley’s medical marijuana card, and his documented service in the Iraq War and struggles with PTSD, Alabama state law allowed a cop from Gordo, pop. 1,750, to depict Worsley as a drug dealer moving heavy weight with intent to sell—and not a wounded military veteran on a family vacation, using legal medical marijuana to manage his PTSD. Abramo booked Sean Worsley for possession of marijuana for other than personal use, a felony. He also charged Worsley’s wife Eboni with the same crime, although the charges against her were later dropped." So a felony dealing charge.